|Newark Community| Founded in 2007, The Newark Empowerment Center helps provide a helping hand to an underserved population. On the eve of his retirement, Friendship House Assistant Executive Director Marc Marcus reflects on the Center’s mission, and the transformations he has witnessed there
‘We walk with people as much as we can’ By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40 This is a profile of one man’s 30-year odyssey of decency and selflessness for his fellow brothers and sisters, that for reasons the reader will soon understand must begin with the hardened facts of reality. In statistics compiled in 2020 by Continuums of Care to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, an estimated 1,165 Delawareans experience homelessness on any given day. Of that total, 136 were family households, 78 were veterans, 43 were unaccompanied young adults (aged 18-24), and 267 were individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. According to the Housing Alliance of Delaware, an agency committed to working in collaboration with its partners and stakeholders to end homelessness, the numbers are even higher. “Each year, more than 3,000 people will experi-
64
Newark Life | Spring/Summer 2022 | www.newarklifemagazine.com
ence homelessness in Delaware,” its website reads, and the homeless can be found “sleeping on streets, in cars, abandoned buildings, emergency shelters and transitional housing programs.” But this is also the story about Marc Marcus, and the influences that have led him, the organizations he has led and the many people he has helped over the past three decades. A native of Stanton, Marcus grew up beneath the enveloping influence of his mother Mary, who spent her life dedicated not just to her family but to her community and her church. To the young boy, his mother’s dedication toward others was inspiring, and he carried that lesson with him when he became the owner of a furniture service company and furniture rental business in New Castle and Stanton. The act of selflessness was infectious, and as Marcus was about to enter his 50s, he felt the calling to share it with others far less fortunate. ‘Being of service to them’ “I had been in business a long time, and the church I was part of – St. Mark’s United Methodist Church -- was hiring a
